the Wakefield Doctrine

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

Good weekend. Got Chapter 4 of Blogdominion finished and published. Cynthia called in on Saturday Night. Wrote a TToT Post and washed the kitchen floor. Not bad as weekends go.

What might this have to do with the Wakefield Doctrine? To be more direct, ‘what does the above ‘list’ of weekend activities have to do with your reading, understanding, applying and enjoying the benefits of our little personality theory?’ Everything and nothing.

But, as Fritz Perls would tell us, lets start with a demand!*

…. ok! you’re back!

(running out of time!)  so, the thing about not being cynical and such? …my reference to the poster that sold so many copies and the poster that would not sell that many copies, provides an illustration of what we mean by ‘personal reality,’ here at the Doctrine. We all, everyone of us, go through the day in a reality that is, to a certain degree, personal.

Example: you could have told the owner of the   “…it’s beautiful” poster about the part of the quote that was left out, and it most likely would not have changed her feeling towards having the poster on her dorm room wall, (but doing so would, most likely, have changed your odds… unless you were a scott, in which case, if you were still there 2 minutes after your revelation (about the poster) your chances would, like, totally improved… but, if you were a scott, none of this would be going through your mind at the time, because…well, because you’re a scott and as the Wakefield Doctrine tells us, ‘scotts act‘ (and) ‘clarks think… rogers feel‘

Where the hell was I? personal reality! so these three worldviews that are at the center of the Wakefield Doctrine? personal realities, each and every one of them. and…real.

You want to know one of the cool differences between the Wakefield Doctrine and all those popular mainstream personality type systems? (yeah, besides the mountains of empirical data, documentation and clear writing style… thanks for reminding us, roger)… it’s this: imagine that you grew up in a world in which you were, somehow, an alien, an oddity…. they love you and care for you as part of the family, they even ignore the fact that you’re so different and pretend that you’re part of the family and not an Outsider. Well, you’re just learning to deal with the world (you’re 2 or 3 or 5 years old) and, no different from your brothers and sisters and classmates at the pre-early-child-daycare, you’re developing ways to get through your day, learning to deal with the world.

….you live in a world in which you’re the Outsider. Your strategies and style of interaction, i.e. your personality type is geared towards that kind of world, that reality.
You grow up to be a clark, (i.e. you mumble because you don’t want to be noticed, but you will not tolerate being ignored… you stay on the fringes of any group, but manage to be closest to whoever is the alpha, in case you need power… and you learn things, everything and anything, because you believe, (beyond doubt), that the reason the people in your life are accepting of each other is that they know something that you do not know)
…the same for the child finding herself in the world of Predator and Prey   and the child who wakes up a Herd Member.

they’re all developing the perfectly appropriate social skills to get through life ‘in the world as they are experiencing it’ clark(Outsider), scott(Predator) and roger(Herd Member)

… that should get us started for the upcoming week!

*ha ha… old grad school joke. Well, not really a ‘grad school joke,’ as much as it’s a joke playing off a quote attributed to our favorite scottian pioneer in the field of modern psychology, Fritz Perls **

** Fritz is also responsible for one of the most enduringly hopeful sayings ever to grace a college coed’s dorm room wall… right next to the ‘hang in there, baby’ poster and just above the desk with the straw-wrapped bottles of rose (one with a candle stuck in the top, an offering to the god of sophomore romance) and one un-opened  (in case the gods deign to answer aforementioned offering) and 2 macramé belts, which were the second things the current occupant purchased upon moving into college life as a Freshman…. anyway!  the quote that was printed on the poster:

I do my thing and you do your thing.

I am not in this world to live up to your expectations,
and you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you, and I am I,
and if by chance we find each other, it’s beautiful

the actual, complete, quote:

I do my thing and you do your thing.

I am not in this world to live up to your expectations,
and you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you, and I am I,
and if by chance we find each other, it’s beautiful.
If not, it can’t be helped.

…and no! before you think it, I am not being curmudgeonly and cynical! (well, not too much), I use this ‘marketing-to-hopeful-kids correctness’ as an illustration of one of the really critical aspects of the Wakefield Doctrine. But, to hear the rest of my argument, lets go back to the beginning of today’s Post, ok?

….no, not here! here!

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks scotts and rogers)

courtesy: Friend of the Doctrine Val

Feeling guilty about the number of useful, entertaining and instructive Posts that I’ve been producing of late. Seeing how the goal of this blog is to write a single Post that a stranger, wandering the blogosphere could read and understand and, if they were so inclined, apply the principles of the Wakefield Doctrine in their life, that very same day and realize a direct benefit from having learned about the Wakefield Doctrine, it kinda behooves me to post them Posts! (yeah, that was one long-assed sentence! I’m just limbering up for zoe’s Six Sentence Story!)

This goal, the thing about writing one simple Post that allows you, the Reader, one new perspective on life just from reading a Post, that’s not too ambitious is it? Wait! Don’t answer yet!  It’s definitely not too ambitious from the perspective of what the Wakefield Doctrine is and how it might be applied. Sure, maybe a little ambitious on my part. My skills are coming along, but I have a bit of a ways to go. As to the Doctrine and what it has to offer? Not a doubt in my mind that if you use the three worldviews as a way to see the world as the other person is experiencing it, you can’t not benefit. clarks become less vague and uncertain as to what they really want, scotts less volatile and flighty and their enthusiasm becomes more disciplined and focused and rogers, well, suffice to say, some of them become kind and totally altruistic! But don’t take my word for it, read!

So, here’s a reprint from last year. In two parts! That way, if you like what you read, you can go ahead and listen to the video. If not, then, hey! have a nice day, be sure to stop back in again (sometimes, it takes a couple of visits to get this Doctrine thing.)

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

Some people come here and before the end of their first visit, ‘get’ the principles of the Wakefield Doctrine personality theory. Other people read and read, they know there is something here, they enjoy the company of the other Readers but, nevertheless, struggle with the concept. It’s funny, how, very often, the ones that struggle at first? …end up getting further into the use and application and enjoyment of a new idea, than do those who pick it up easily and without difficulty. I’m thinking about Val and Sarah, who have recently written comments expressing a certain… frustration or (semi)-aggravation at knowing the principles but missing out on the fun. To them, (and anyone else out there encountering difficulties with our little personality theory), I want to say, ‘Thank you!’

I used to remind myself (and have myself reminded at by the people* who were here when I started the blog), ‘if the Reader don’t get it, it’s my fault’.
Meaning, of course, it was my responsibility to present the Wakefield Doctrine in manner that would allow anyone having the slightest interest, to read, understand, use and enjoy the Doctrine. It’s funny about blogs, how we start out with a certain goal or idea or image of what it will be like when we have Readers but, somehow as success comes along, some of the fun (and aggravation), risking taking (and embarrassing early attempts) and adventurousness leaves us… we become content that we have what we set out to get, often we are fearful (to some extent, sometimes great, often small ways) of taking chances. (“Hey! careful there! don’t want to alienate any Readers!!” “…are you sure you want to take that approach?” “Dude! don’t screw it up, you know how you always sabotage yourself.”)

I will repeat, ‘Thanks Sarah and Val!’ Thank you for reminding me of the most important thing: a) that I present the Wakefield Doctrine in terms that all of us can read and learn and enjoy and 2) I remember to have fun. ( “It ain’t a college elective we’re writing here!! it’s the damn Wakefield Doctrine.”)

So today I’ll try to present the Doctrine in 2 ways: written and aural***

the Wakefield Doctrine has one simple requirement: the willingness to imagine that we all live in one of three worldviews (these are personal realities… that little portion of reality that is ours alone) and that by (our) growing up and developing into adults in the context of these three worldviews, our personality types are manifested. These three worldviews are: the life of the Outsider(clarks), the reality of the Predator(scotts) and the world of the Herd Member(rogers). We are all born with the potential to live in any of these three, we all settle into one (the predominant worldview), but never lose the capability to experience the world as do ‘the other two’.

the Wakefield Doctrine is best learned by: reading about the characteristics of the three worldviews and learning (for each of the personality types) a person’s likes, dislikes, phobias and failings, strengths, weaknesses and (preferred) strategies in relating to the world.

Once learned, look around and they will be there.
Once learned, observe the behavior of the people in your life and infer how the other person is ‘relating themselves to the world around them’.
Once you have reached a certain level of familiarity (with the three worldviews), be prepared for people to act like clarks and scotts and rogers with a spontaneity and genuineness that may first creep you out (like how did they know to do that) and then you will see behavior and traits that you know you didn’t read about here, but you are certain is a characteristic of the worldview. (at this point, you will laugh and thank us or you will swear to never go near ‘those people and their Doctrine’ again). oh, yeah,…. by the way? if you get to a certain point in learning the Doctrine to where you can see the clarks, scotts and rogers in your life? you…er may not be able to not see them, ya know?
The rest is having fun and writing Comments and contributing to the understanding of the Wakefield Doctrine… like I said, fun stuff.

(as promised: Video Supplement )

* Denise and roger and glenn and jennifer and… Molly (who I saw in the Comments yesterday, she was the total (home)school marm, whenever I would express my misgivings on some point of presentation… as Denzel would say, ‘Laura Engal ain’t got nothin on her!!**)

** no, I don’t think she would say that, but I liked the quote and, somehow, in the way that these things have, the photo I encountered fits just fine for today’s Post.

*** well, not rising to the level of a true rogerian expression, I still enjoy the look of that word choice